Not Your Usual Panhandler
Doug Eaton wanted to celebrate his birthday on June 11 in a big way, so he turned to his friends for ideas. "I asked a bunch of my friends on Facebook what should I do on my 65th and I got a whole long list of stuff," he shared, "And one of my friends said, 'Why don't you do 65 random acts of kindness?'" So that's exactly what he did, spending 65 minutes standing on the corner of NW 39th Street a... posted on Jul 19 2012, 23,074 reads

The Radical Dissent of Helen Keller
The bronze statue of Helen Keller that sits in the U.S. Capitol shows the blind girl standing at a water pump. It depicts the moment in 1887 when her teacher, Anne Sullivan, spelled "W-A-T-E-R" into one of her 7-year-old pupil's hands while water streamed into the other. This was Keller's awakening, when she made the connection between the word Sullivan spelled and the tangible substance splashing... posted on Jul 16 2012, 34,641 reads

The Second Glance
Have you ever cringed at the sight of a human being who is physically disfigured? David Roche, who was born with a facial disfigurement, spent years trying to hide from himself. At middle age, he discovered his inner beauty, his spirit and his strength, and he has dedicated his life to helping all people find the inner beauty within themselves and in others.... posted on Jul 15 2012, 4,717 reads

A Savior At the Grocery Store
"Numbly, I left my husband, Marty, at the hospital where I had been visiting two of my children and headed for the grocery store. Since it was eleven p.m., I drove to the only store I knew was open twenty-four hours a day. I turned my car motor off and rested my head against the seat. What a day, I thought to myself. With two of my young children in the hospital, and a third waiting at Grandma's, ... posted on Jul 08 2012, 6,215 reads

Texting That Saves Lives
Teenagers in the U.S. send an average of 3,339 text messages per month. What happened when Nancy Lublin, the CEO and Chief Old Person at DoSomething.org, started texting 200,000 teens across America? They texted back -- about their own problems, from bullying to depression to abuse. In this passionate TED talk, Nancy describes how this birthed a crisis text hotline which has helped thousands of te... posted on Jul 07 2012, 3,611 reads

A Refugee Turned Social Entrepreneur
Amber Chand is an entrepreneur in the United States with a unique business model: "She scans the headlines for conflicts around the world and responds. "I swoop in and then identify a group of talented, skilled artisan women who live there [in conflict zones] and who are clearly going to have to rebuild their lives in the shadow of either war or genocide or civil strife," she explains. The Amber C... posted on Jul 03 2012, 4,419 reads

One Student's Unforgettable Graduation Gift
Brenna Martin's dad evidently doesn't like last-minute shopping. Bryan Martin purchased a gift for his daughter's high school graduation -- which happened earlier this month -- thirteen years ago. He managed to keep it hidden this whole time, and his "moving, touching, nostalgic, and thoughtful" present (her words) brought Brenna to tears when dad finally gave it to her last week.... posted on Jul 02 2012, 28,490 reads

The Business 9 Women Kept Secret For 30 Years
"Somewhere in West Tennessee, not far from Graceland, nine women -- or "The 9 Nanas," as they prefer to be called -- gather in the darkness of night. At 4am they begin their daily routine -- a ritual that no one, not even their husbands, knew about for 30 years. Over the next three hours, The 9 Nanas (who all consider themselves sisters, despite what some of their birth certificates say) will whip... posted on Jun 29 2012, 1,768,073 reads

Food. People. Power.
For many years, people living in West Oakland had accepted eating unhealthy food as a way of life. That is, until a small group of people decided to change their community through Mandela MarketPlace, a non-profit that partners with local residents and rural, minority farmers to bring fresh agricultural produce to their local corner stores. Mandela MarketPlace now represents the difference that yo... posted on Jun 28 2012, 2,390 reads

Worth Our Weight: The Taste of Compassion
"I glance down at my GPS to make sure this is where we want to be and in doing so I almost pass my destination. There it is tucked away to the left, sandwiched between two homes: Worth our Weight (W.O.W). The whimsical name brings to mind a weight-loss program or some sort of preemptive apologetic reassurance for long lines. This restaurant has neither. The front is clean, simple and inviting, wit... posted on Jun 27 2012, 11,853 reads